Scramble for Kenya
1Scramble for kenya
Madge Volcy
Mrs. Morse
Africa
10/28/10
Imperialism is defined as one country’s domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. In Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, imperialism was present and growing. The main countries involved in the imperialism in Africa were the French, German, and Britain. All of these countries were in a constant struggle to become the most powerful, to have the most riches, and control over high abundances of the natural resources in Africa. One region in particular being that of present day Kenya was desirable to the British. Although Britain’s reason’s to imperialize Kenya were selfish and harmful, in the long run Britain helped Kenya progress. On a quest to find natural resources in Kenya the Portuguese were among the first European settlers along the coast of Kenya. Up until the 19th century, very little was known about Kenya’s land beyond the coast until the arrival of the British who came and colonized Kenya. Kenya was under the control of British between the 19th century and mid 20th century.
In the early 1800s, European powers began rushing to get a hold of unclaimed territories within areas of interest in Africa. Zanzibar and the interior of Eastern Africa caught the attention of both Germany and Britain. To avoid conflict, in 1886, Germany and Britain signed a treaty in which they agreed upon what lands they would pursue. Germany would take the coast of present day Tanzania and Britain had access to the area where Kenya and Uganda lie. 1
Britain was also interested in other areas in Southern Africa; however, the British were hesitant in accepting full responsibility for the region they had access to. The result was Britain allowing a commercial company, the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC), the right to administer and develop the eastern territory. The IBEAC was responsible for the land stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to Uganda all
Madge Volcy
Mrs. Morse
Africa
10/28/10
Imperialism is defined as one country’s domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. In Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, imperialism was present and growing. The main countries involved in the imperialism in Africa were the French, German, and Britain. All of these countries were in a constant struggle to become the most powerful, to have the most riches, and control over high abundances of the natural resources in Africa. One region in particular being that of present day Kenya was desirable to the British. Although Britain’s reason’s to imperialize Kenya were selfish and harmful, in the long run Britain helped Kenya progress. On a quest to find natural resources in Kenya the Portuguese were among the first European settlers along the coast of Kenya. Up until the 19th century, very little was known about Kenya’s land beyond the coast until the arrival of the British who came and colonized Kenya. Kenya was under the control of British between the 19th century and mid 20th century.
In the early 1800s, European powers began rushing to get a hold of unclaimed territories within areas of interest in Africa. Zanzibar and the interior of Eastern Africa caught the attention of both Germany and Britain. To avoid conflict, in 1886, Germany and Britain signed a treaty in which they agreed upon what lands they would pursue. Germany would take the coast of present day Tanzania and Britain had access to the area where Kenya and Uganda lie. 1
Britain was also interested in other areas in Southern Africa; however, the British were hesitant in accepting full responsibility for the region they had access to. The result was Britain allowing a commercial company, the Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC), the right to administer and develop the eastern territory. The IBEAC was responsible for the land stretching from the eastern coast of Africa to Uganda all
Cited: "British Imperialism and the Birth of Modern Kenya." Associated Content - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1996646/british_imperialism_and_the_birth_of.html?cat=37. Durrani, Shiraz. "Kikuyu Central Association." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 2 May 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_Central_Association. Gascoigne, Bamber. "HISTORY OF KENYA." HistoryWorld - History and Timelines. 2001. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad21. "HISTORY OF KENYA." HistoryWorld - History and Timelines. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ad21. Http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/770/Kenya-HISTORY-BACKGROUND.html. Web. Http://www.casahistoria.net/Imperialism%20in%20Kenya.pdf. Web. "Imperial British East Africa Company." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 21 July 2010. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_British_East_Africa_Company. "Kikuyu Central Association." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kikuyu_Central_Association.